Citigroup
Citigroup Basic information Ownership status: Publicly traded Number of employees worldwide: 327,000 Website: http://www.citigroup.com Corporate accountability: Citigroup received a “C” grade on the 2007 NAACP Economic Reciprocity Initiative report. The grade reflects a measurement of corporate America's commitment to the African American citizenry and other people of color. Companies were surveyed for their activity in employment, vendor development and contracting, advertising and marketing, dealerships and philanthropy. NAACP, 07/15/2007 Citigroup gave $20.99 million in political contributions from 1989-2006. In the 2006 election cycle, Citigroup gave a total of $2.545 million, of which $1.362 million (or 54 percent) went to Democrats and $1.117 million (44 percent) to Republicans. Citigroup actively lobbies on issues such as financial privacy, bankruptcy reform, and terrorism reinsurance. Center for Responsive Politics, 02/19/2007 In 2005, the CEO of Citigroup, Charles O. Price, earned $22,994,729 in compensation. In 2006, he raked in $25, 975,719 in total compensation according to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and $25,009,052 according to the AFL-CIO's calculations. AFL-CIO, 02/17/2007 Citigroup dismissed one of its top executives in the U.S. structured products division shortly after the man filed a lawsuit accusing the financial giant of racial discrimination. Ramesh Menon, who had worked for Citigroup since 1996, claimed that the company repeatedly bypassed him for promotions because he was a naturalized citizen of Indian descent. Menon filed the discrimination lawsuit in October of 2005, although he had voiced complaints of sexual and racial discrimination on earlier occasions. Menon claims that his firing is merely an act of retaliation on the part of Citibank for his complaint. UPDATE: Citigroup and Menon reached a settlement agreement in 2006 and Menon has sinced formed his own company ("Ex-Citi exec launches equity fund shop." Euromoney Institutional Investor. 24 April 2006). Reuters, 11/09/2005 In 2005 Citigroup shareholders brought forth a resolution calling for a cap on executive compensation, not to exceed 100 times that of employees of non-managerial status. An exception to the standard could be made with shareholder approval. (Actual vote: 6.67%) Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, 01/01/2005 In May 2004 the Federal Reserve fined Citigroup $70 million for illegally requiring certain borrowers who qualified independently for loans to cosign. Citigroup was also required to pay compensation to some of these customers. Although Citigroup consented to the order, it did not admit any malfeasance. Ethical Corporation, 06/01/2004 In May 2004 Citigroup agreed to pay $2.65 billion to investors in WorldCom Inc. who had accused it of participating in financial fraud. The shareholders filed a lawsuit in October 2002 charging that Citigroup officials "averted their eyes" to WorldCom's financial frauds in order to protect $679 million in loans to Worldcom's ex-CEO, Bernard Ebbers. In making the settlement, Citigroup admitted to no wrongdoing. Reuters, 05/10/2004 In August 2003 Citigroup Global Markets' brokerage division was fined $1 million by the New York Stock Exchange, for improperly advising WorldCom employees on matters related to their company stock holdings.The NYSE contended that the division advised WorldCom employees to borrow heavily to pay taxes on stock options but did not warn them of potential losses if the value of their holdings fell. The stock of WorldCom, which filed for bankruptcy last year, is now worthless. Washington Post, 08/23/2003 In July 2003 the SEC announced that Citigroup Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay a combined $236 million to settle charges that they helped Enron manipulate its books to appear financially healthy. The companies also agreed to pay $50 million to settle fraud allegations from the Manhattan district attorney's office. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 07/29/2003 The Corporate Library named Citigroup as "worst overall" in its listing of the Ten Worst Large US Boards in 2003, a study focused on the responsibility of major corporate governing boards. Citigroup earned the title because its board had declined to take responsibility for financial scandals which rocked the company. Citi CEO Sanford Weill, who “was personally involved” in many of Citi’s recent financial troubles opted to pass fines levied for his and the board’s actions on to Citi shareholders, and although Weill made a public display of refusing his annual bonus, the board awarded him options on millions of shares, valued at well more than $11 million dollars. Corporate Library, 06/10/2003 In December 2002 Citigroup was one of ten brokerage firms that agreed to pay $1.44 billion in fines and to fund independent stock research for investors in a settlement with the New York State attorney general's office and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which handled the negotiations. In agreeing to the fines, the firms neither admitted nor denied that they had misled investors. It is hoped that the agreement with the firms will put an end to bankers and analysts pitching deals as a team. Office of the New York State Attorney General, 04/28/2003 In April 2003 the Vanguard Group filed a lawsuit against Citibank and its subsidiary Salomon Smith Barney alleging the firms fraudulently sold it $70 million of worthless Enron Corp. bonds. The lawsuit claims that the firms disguised Enron's mounting debts to Citibank as normal commodity investment accounts, which were used to back Enron bonds. Those bonds were then sold to investors, including Vanguard. The investments turned out to be worthless when Enron went bankrupt in 2001. Associated Press, 04/11/2003 Citigroup was named one of the "Ten Worst Corporations of 2002" by Multinational Monitor. The company was cited for a number of corporate scandals, including the manipulation of stock recommendations to secure favors from other corporate boards, the use of deceptive marketing and business practices, and the advocacy of certain stocks despite internal communications that derided them as valueless. The scandals resulted in numerous federal and state investigations, fines and large financial settlements, including the payment of $1.6 million dollars to 26 states over Citi’s sharing of customer lists and credit data with telemarketers. Multinational Monitor, 12/01/2002 In September 2002 Citigroup investment banking division, Salomon Smith Barney, agreed to pay a $5 million fine to settle charges it issued "materially misleading" research reports on Winstar, a broadband telecommunications service provider that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. Reports from a Salomon Smith Barney analyst and his assistant praised Winstar but internal e-mails revealed the two were actually skeptical of the company, according to an investigation by the National Association of Securities Dealers. The company agreed to pay the fine without admitting or denying the finding of the investigation. Associated Press, 09/23/2002 In September 2002, Citigroup agreed to repay customers $215 million to settle federal charges that its subsidiary Associates First Capital Corp. had manipulated people into buying overpriced mortgages and credit insurance. It is the biggest settlement involving consumer protection in the history of the Federal Trade Commission. The agreement allows two million consumers to receive cash refunds or reduced loan balances to help them to recover much of their losses. Citigroup does not admit to any wrong-doing by agreeing to the settlement. Associated Press, 09/19/2002 Citigroup has failed to follow federal guidelines to prevent money laundering and has allowed as much as $800 million in suspicious Russian funds to flow through 136 accounts from 1991 through January 2000, according to the General Accounting Office. In a letter to the GAO in November 2000, Citigroup said it has found no evidence that it acted illegally, but it acknowledged lapses in enforcing its anti-money-laundering policies. The company said that it closed the accounts in question this year and tightened policies to prevent the problem from recurring. According to the GAO, Citigroup, along with Commercial Bank, accepted more than $1 billion from Delaware based U.S. corporations, which appeared to be shell companies created to move money from abroad into the U.S. banking system. Washington Post, 11/30/2000 Environment and product safety: The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and BankTrack published a report entitled “Shaping the Future of Sustainable Finance,” examines the environmental and social policies adopted by 39 prominent commercial banks. Banks were assessed and scored on a zero to four scale in 13 areas, such as human rights, labor rights, climate and energy, biodiversity, forests, and sustainable agriculture. Citigroup averaged a score of one. World Wildlife Fund, 01/01/2006 At Citigroup's annual shareholder meeting in April 2002 in New York City, protesters demonstrated against the company's involvement in several environmentally devastating projects including damaging mining in the Amazon River basin, oil pipelines in Venezuela, and palm plantations in Indonesia. The protesters, including members of the Rainforest Action Network, National Organization for Women, Inner City On The Move, and United For A Fair Economy, called on Citigroup to become a leader in developing environmentally and socially friendly practices.Rainforest Action Network, 01/01/2003 Human rights: In November 2002 a lawsuit was filed againt Citigroup and 19 other companies for reparations because of alleged support to the apartheid regime that ruled South Africa until 1994. The case, which was filed by the Khulumani Support Group, seeks compensatory and punitive damages for more than 32,000 South Africans hurt by apartheid. The suit charges financial institutions like Citicorp with culpability for lending funds used to bolster police and armed forces under the racist regime. The case was dismissed by a judge in November 2004 because "the plaintiffs had not proved that the companies broke international law." Guardian, 11/30/2004 Financial information Detailed financial information Total revenue: 146,600,000,000 Net Income: 21,538,000,000 Location Headquarters 399 Park Avenue New York, NY, 10043 United States